n was a Canadian who spoke villanous French and worse
English; his vocabulary being largely interspersed with "enfant de
garce," "sacre," "sacre enfant," and "damn" until it was a difficult
matter to tell what he was talking about.

He was married to an Arapahoe squaw, and his strange wooing and winning
of the dusky maiden is a thrilling love-story.

Among the maidens who came with the Arapahoes, when that tribe made a
visit to "Brown's Hole" one winter for the purpose of trading with the
whites, was a young, merry, and very handsome girl, named "Unami," who
after a few interviews completely captured Baptiste's heart. Nothing was
more common, as I have stated, than marriages between the trappers and a
beautiful redskin. Isolated absolutely from women of his own colour, the
poor mountaineer forgets he is white, which, considering the embrowning
influence of constant exposure and sunlight, is not so marvellous after
all. For a portion of the year there is no hunting, and then idleness is
the order of the day. At such times the mountaineer visits the lodges
of his dark neighbours for amusement, and in the spirited dance many
a heart is lost to the squaws. The young trapper, like other enamoured
ones of his sex in civilization, lingers around the house of his fair
sweetheart while she transforms the soft skin of the doe into moccasins,
ornamenting them richly with glittering beads or the coloured quills
of the porcupine, all the time lightening the long hours with the
plain-songs of their tribe. It was upon an occasion of this character
that Baptiste, then in the prime of his youthful manhood, first loved
the dark-eyed Arapahoe.

The course open to him was to woo and win her; but alas! savage papas
are just like fathers in the best civilization--the only difference
between them is that the former are more open and matter-of-fact, since
in savage etiquette a consideration is required in exchange for the
daughter, which belongs exclusively to the parent, and must be of equal
marketable value to the girl.

The usual method is to select your best horse, take him to the lodge
of your inamorata's parents, tie him to a tree, and walk away. If
the animal is considered a fair exchange, matters are soon settled
satisfactorily; if not, other gifts must be added.

At this juncture poor Baptiste was in a bad fix; he had disposed of
all his season's earnings for his winter's subsistence, much of which
consisted of an ample supply of